We were in the biggest cavern of the entire mountain, so Cynder had plenty of room to move around. He ran, dodged, and stomped, trying to avoid my creation before it got him. My dragon burped small fireballs at Cynder. They splashed against Cynder's scaly side. Each time he swiped at it with his tail or talon, it dispersed, but I kept remaking it.
Cynder growled. “I grow tired of this, little one.” He stopped running. “If that's how you want to play.”
Cynder rose to his full height, puffing his chest out and stretching his enormous wings. He flapped his wings, summoning a sudden gust of wind. It smashed into my magic, dissipating it. He flapped again, and the wind attacked me and knocked me to the ground. I strained to rise, pushing against the wall of air. I tried to use wind magic against him, but with the weight of his powerful body behind him, he was too strong. My air magic did nothing, and every time I tried to summon other magic, the wind squeezed me harder against the ground.
“Enough!” I yelled. “I yield!”
Cynder stopped. He furled his wings, a smug expression on his face.
I rose and stared at the dragon. Since I’d come to the mountain, he and I had become friends, so that sometimes I forgot exactly what he was and what he could do. I stretched my arms, back, and neck, hearing cracking noises. I massaged my left shoulder. Stupid dragon. I was going to be sore the rest of the day.
“Never send a human to do a dragon's job,” Cynder said, blowing smoke out of his nose. He raised his foot and stomped hard on the ground, causing me to stumble. Cynder grinned, showing off his pointed teeth.
I saw a head-sized rock near him. I reached out to the earth mana I was now able to feel. I drew energy from the mountain, channeling it through my hand. I focused on the rock, trying to use the magic to lift it and fling it at Cynder. The rock trembled and jumped before I tired. I gasped for air, feeling the sweat drip down my face.
“You're getting better at earth magic,” Cynder said.
I raised an eyebrow. “I am?”
He stretched his long neck until his eyes were right near the rock. “Yup. I believe it moved an inch that time.” Cynder erupted with laughter, his booming voice pounding in my ears.
I gave Cynder a sour look.
“Don't be so dour, Hellsfire. You're improving, at least in your use of fire magic. Everything else needs work. If we fight again, I won't use my fire. I'll just use my jaws.” Cynder’s head snaked over and he snapped his teeth in front of me. I jumped, causing him to laugh again.
“I hate you.”
“You lower species tend to do that. Listen, how much do you want to test your magic?”
“What do you mean?”
Cynder's red eyes swiveled from side to side, and he lowered his voice. “How good are you at webs?”
“You mean making them?”
“No, I mean unmaking them.”
It dawned on me what he meant. “You mean you want me to try and undo the web that Master Stradus made on the forbidden door?”
“Shhh! The air can carry our words.”
“He can't hear us all the way from his garden, can he?”
“He's a master air wizard. These days, I'm more surprised by what he can't do.”
I peered over my shoulder and lowered my voice. “Didn't Master Stradus say the web was in place to protect us because we're not the only ones in the White Mountain?”
“In all the years I've been here, I've not seen any sign that that's true.”
“You do realize your big head can't fit down the corridor to that door?”
Cynder blew smoke at me, enveloping me in it. I coughed and gagged before summoning wind to carry it away. “I realize that,” he said. “Which is why I'm asking you to do it. I'll keep him busy.”
“What if I get in trouble?”
“Our master will be impressed that your skill has come along so far that you could undo his spell. If you can.”
I nodded. I would love to be able to impress Master Stradus by showing him all I'd learned since arriving. But I still wasn't sure. “What if he's right and there is something dangerous down there?”
“So what? Think about it, little Hellsfire. What could harm one great dragon and one and a half wizards?”
I stared at him.
“If you get into trouble, you can blame it all on me.”
“I was going to do that anyway.” I glanced away from him. “I don't know, Cynder.”
“I'll take you for a ride.”
That got my attention. If a dragon gave you a ride, it was a huge honor. It meant they trusted you and you were their friend. And he knew I was dying to ride him, after hearing Master Stradus’s stories of how it made him feel like part of the wind, soaring and watching the way the ground looked like patchwork below him.